Community Health in Honolulu Means More Than a Doctor's Visit

For more than 25 years, the people of Kalihi have been waiting for their valley's nature park to open. This one-hundred acre tract of land in the Kalihi Valley, five minutes from downtown Honolulu, has sat idle since it was first purchased by the city. Originally, the park land was purchased by a developer for a residential subdivision. There was enough public opposition to the development that the construction was cancelled and the land was purchased by the city for public use. However, neither the city nor the state government ever found the money to develop the lush terrain. Over time, exotic plants such as Albizia trees and bamboo smothered the land. The lone house on the property fell derelict and became a gathering place for drug abusers and the homeless. It seemed that the land, once treasured by native Hawaiians for its agricultural bounty, was lost to the rain forest.

Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), a comprehensive family services and healthcare agency, didn't see an untamed jungle, but rather the future home of the Kalihi Valley Nature Park and Active Living Center. In 2003, KKV was chosen as one of the 25 Active Living by Design grantees. One of their goals was to create a connection to nature, gardening and hiking for the valley's urban residents, many of whom live in public housing. The Active Living by Design grant and more than $350,000 in other funds received allowed KKV to obtain a lease for the property, and they began to take on the jungle.

Gary Gill, KKV's Active Living Program Coordinator, looked past the Albizia trees and envisioned a place where the community could begin to "get back to the land and heal the wounds of their urban existence." The community has embraced his vision, evidenced by a number of community members and volunteers from local organizations and schools, including Honolulu Community College, Halau Lokahi, the Boy Scouts, the National Park Service, and even the local Pig Hunter's Association, who have volunteered their time and energy to restore the house and the surrounding land.

After four dumpster loads of trash were removed from the house, and the rotten beams and roofing were pulled off by large construction cranes, the old home was ready for a face lift. With new roofing, plumbing and electricity courtesy of students from Honolulu Community College, the abandoned, overgrown home is now a residence, a meeting facility, and a classroom for its community members. The dilapidated structure in the middle of the rain forest has become an oasis for active living, community action, cultural education and environmental stewardship.

Outside of the house, the gardens are beginning to take shape. Three to four acres of garden space, once overrun with invasive plants, will be cleared by the end of the year. Local groups can then begin to grow vegetables and other produce for their own use. The Nature Park will also be home to a Native Hawaiian garden where medicinal and endangered species will be cultivated. KKV plans to use organic farming methods, including composting and avoidance of chemical pesticides, whenever possible. Eventually, up to 10 acres of community gardens will provide space for hundreds of people to be more physically active, grow and eat healthy foods to improve their diet and learn to be less dependent on more expensive sources of fresh produce.

Gardening groups are being organized through partnerships with other non-profit organizations in Kalihi, including the Kalihi YMCA and Micronesians Unite, a group that hopes to help recent immigrants hold on to their culture while they assimilate into Hawaii. Students from a Native Hawaiian Charter School are using the park to preserve their culture by carving a native fishing canoe from a harvested Albizia tree.

Kokua Kalihi Valley and its many partners saw past the overgrown jungle and dilapidated house, and with the help of Gill and others, have begun to create a place that aims to improve all facets of health. In the words of Gill, the Kalihi Valley Nature Park has "taken health care beyond the doctor's office, into the forest and onto the land." The community has put its efforts into developing something that will continue to give back for years to come, while creating opportunities for active living, fostering environmental stewardship and promoting the preservation of Hawaiian culture.

Resources

Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services -

KKV Nature Park Webpage

Article in Honolulu Advertiser on the Nature Park

Article in Honolulu Weekly on the Nature Park

Article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

KKV Presentation from the 2006 ALbD Grantee Meeting